Johor has a few festivals and events that are exclusive to the state including the Johor International Kite Festival, Nusantara Culture Festival, Johor Arts Festival and the Kuda Kepang Festival. The state also celebrates all of Malaysia’s national public holidays and popular religious festivals including Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu and Christian celebrations.

Thaipusam: this Hindu festival is celebrated mainly by Johor’s Tamil community and takes place on the full moon in the month known as Thai in the Tamil calendar. The festival is a commemoration of the birthday of Lord Murugan and the story of his battle against the demon Soorapadman.

Chinese New Year: celebrations are always lively in Johor with members of the Chinese community enjoying street-based festivities including lion and dragon dances and fireworks displays. Chinese New Year is a time for the settling of debts, praying and making offerings at temples. Local Chinese buy new clothes and indulge in feasting on traditional foods.

Johor International Kite Festival: Malaysia is well known for its kite traditions, with both making and flying considered ancient arts in many parts of the country. Johor celebrates this traditional practice with this annual event, which sees kite making and stunt flying competitions. The contest to see who can fly their kite the highest is always popular, with some models making its over 500 metres high. The amazing aerial stunts performed always elicit plenty of cheers from spectators.

Chap Goh Meh: also known as the Lantern Festival, traditional sticky rice-flour dumplings known as tangyuan are prepared and eaten on this day as part of the Chinese festivities.

Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday: Johor’s Muslim community celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad by attending mosques for prayers. Also known as Maulud Nabi, this is a day of reflection for most Muslims.

Easter: Johor’s Christian community celebrates Easter with religious rites throughout Holy Week as well as with light-hearted celebrations on Easter Sunday. Families get together and enjoy feasting and egg-decorating.

Wesak Day: Buddhists in Johor celebrate this major religious festival which marks the birth, enlightenment and achievements of the Buddha. The devoted attend temples at dawn for meditation and prayer and make offerings of incense. Later in the day, a candle procession takes place.

Nusantara Culture Festival: a week of cultural celebrations takes place at Dang Bay and sees live music and dance performances, arts and crafts and a variety of other activities.

Johor Arts Festival: this relatively new addition to the state’s calendar of events is a celebration of local culture and traditions. Visitors can expect to see a variety of authentic cultural arts performances over the festival’s two-week period.

Kuda Kepang Festival: is a popular and lively affair which celebrates the old Javanese dance known as kuda kepang. The dance involves between nine and 15 men in traditional Javanese dress who stand astride mock horses and move in time to the vibrant accompanying percussion beats.

Merdeka Day: is Malaysia’s official Independence Day celebration, held on 31 August. Celebrations typically begin up to two weeks early and continue until mid-September. Johor Bahru sees lively celebrations involving parades, firework displays and more.

Lantern Festival: also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, this historical event remembers the success of the Chinese in their rebellion against Mongol oppression in the 14th century. Popular myth holds that details of the rebellion were hidden inside moon cakes, which were then distributed among the Chinese. It is also said that lanterns were used as silent signals between Chinese camps. In memory of this, members of Johor’s Chinese community hang lanterns outside their houses and prepare and eat tasty moon cakes.

Hungry Ghosts Festival: Buddhists and Taoists in Johor celebrate this festival with the burning of joss sticks and the offering of food to the dead. Locals leave food for the dead on street corners in the belief that by feeding them they will not be disturbed by ‘hungry ghosts’.

Bon Odori: celebrated by Johor’s Japanese residents, this annual festival takes place during the Buddhist period of Obon. In Johor Bahru, the Japan Club invites native Japanese and anyone else interested to attend a cultural show in which the highlight is a Nenbutsu folk dance performance.

Hari Raya Haji: know by the international Muslim community as Eid al-Adha, this popular Islamic festival remembers the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son Ismael to Allah. On this day, mosques in Johor are filled with devoted Muslims offering thanksgiving prayers while elsewhere animals are sacrificed in remembrance of the sheep that Allah instructed Ibrahim to kill.

Deepvali: this Hindu festival is also known as the Festivals of Lights. The festival is a celebration of Lord Krishna’s victory in his battle against the demon King Narakasura. Members of Johor’s Hindu community rise at dawn and take herbal oil baths before donning new clothes and offering prayer to Krishna. Oil lamps are lit in Hindu homes in order to encourage Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, to enter the abodes.

Christmas: Johor’s Christian community celebrates the birth of Christ by decorating homes and places of work and getting together with family and friends for feasting and gift-giving. Mass is celebrated at midnight on the eve before Christmas in many churches across the state.